Chasing Naila
by carrie the small
Summary: Naila does things her own way in Hogwarts. While trying to learn to Apparate, she manages to send herself back in time, where a boy with messy black hair and glasses helps her up. How will Naila make it through the rest of her sixth year? Rated T for swearing. BEING MAJORLY REVISED, NO UPDATES FOR A WHILE!
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, I came up with this idea literally an hour ago. I don't know how far this is going to go (I've still got a bunch of stories I need to update), but I'm going to try to write more about Naila. Wish me luck!**

* * *

Chapter 1: I Introduce Myself and My Life

There's loud _CRACK!_ ing sounds everywhere in the Great Hall. Almost no one actually makes it into the hoop in front of them as they attempt to Apparate, although one boy ends up hanging on one of the almost invisible rafters.

"HELP!" he cries, and McGonagall rushes over to help him down.

Oh, great. This isn't exactly helping my nerves.

But I take a breath.

And—

 _CRACK!_

"Ow!" I cry out as I bump into my best friend, Emilia.

"Geez, Naila. Overshoot a bit?" she chuckles.

Emilia and I are— _were_ —on opposite ends of the hall. She's Gryffindor and has her own set of friends, and I got shoved over with the rest of the Slytherins as usual. Normally, we would stick together like glue, which is probably why I ended up here. I know I'm her best, closes friend, and she knows she's my only friend. My only real one, anyway. It's weird that we look so much like each other, but it's kind of cool, too. The only differences are in our respective heights and our eyes.

Here's the weird thing about me. I've got honest-to-goodness golden eyes. I kid you not. If you held a chunk of gold next to my face, my eyes would match that gold exactly.

Apparently, it's part of our family's supposed curse. Way back in the seventeenth century or so, my ancestors were ridiculously greedy. They were one of the many we're-pure-blood-so-we're-superior families that dominated the magical world back then. One little thing, though. Somehow, one of my boneheaded ancestors managed to piss off a talented witch of the time by saying a bunch a sexist remarks and then asking her to marry him (and then the idiot wondered why he got cursed). The witch's name wasn't known until I was born. She said that someday, one of us would have the same name as her. That girl would have eyes the color of the thing my family sought after the most, and would serve as a constant reminder that the closest we would ever get to whatever that color happened to be was my eyes.

So, my eyes are gold. After my ancestor pulled that little stunt and got himself cursed, my family went almost completely broke, but we managed to stay pure-blooded this whole time. Whoopee. And I'm the one that gets the shaft of the deal, because I'm a physical reminder of all the selfish dreams my family lost that day.

That's what fills my head half the time. The fact that I'm a living, breathing family scapegoat.

Not many here seem to think so, though, so I've managed to get by. I grew up living next to Emilia, so she and I were already friends. I suppose I talk to a few people around here, but none of them are Slytherins. Neville from Gryffindor, Luna from Ravenclaw (I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who's actually even remotely interested in her made-up animals, and it's mostly because they're hilarious), Marina and Jackie (twins) from Hufflepuff, and Emilia are the only people I talk to here. That, and a beautiful snowy white owl named Hedwig that seems to like me for some reason.

So when Draco Malfoy meets me after another half hour of us attempting to Apparate and looking like total idiots, I'm shocked. What would a guy like him want with a girl like me?

Apparently, something I can't give, because he leans in and kisses me.

So I do what any sensible girl would do, and pull back and slap him hard, right across the face.

"Go Naila!" some guy from Gryffindor from yells at me while Emilia snickers in the background somewhere.

"Come on, Jackson!" Emilia rolls her eyes. "Smell you later, Naila!"

We mock salute each other after Malfoy stalks away with a nasty-looking red mark on his face from the palm of my hand (good, I did it well), and go our separate ways. Her, to the Gryffindor common room. Me, to wherever I feel like going. I'm not going straight to the Slytherin common room. I'm going where I want, damn it, and curfew won't stop me.

I sigh as I walk across the grounds by myself. People go out of their way to avoid me. Most just see the green-and-grey scarf and immediately mark me as something awful, like the Ravenclaw boy that guides his Hufflepuff girlfriend away. The Slytherins, however, know me by my eyes, and stay clear out of principle. I made it clear from the beginning that I wouldn't take any of their pure-blood-is-perfection shit, and the younger ones think that if they touch me they'll get my curse or something. You can always tell if I'm there in a crowd, because there'll be a little circle of space around me about ten centimeters wide.

Someone out there thinks I'm pretty, though. I know that for a fact. I keep getting roses on top of my bed that glow gold. Kind of like the enchanted rose from that Disney movie Marina and Jackie are so obsessed with. Whoever it is must not mind that I'm Slytherin, because for Christmas this year I got a silver arm band in the shape of a snake. I wear it every day now, mostly because it's beautiful, but also as a reminder that I'm not alone in this magical universe.

I wander the castle grounds for ten more minutes, and then the castle itself for a good hour and fifteen minutes. Then, after a light dinner, I head to my dorm.

I, unfortunately, share it with a girl named Astoria Greengrass. Normally, I wouldn't mind, because she's usually pretty nice to me. But Astoria is one of those people who is always surrounded by people, and the people that surround her don't like me all that much. Of course, Astoria can't defend me, because they'd turn on her, but I know she hates watching them.

I don't mind them too much. Unless I'm thinking about my poor parents. Then everything seems awful.

I'm probably one of the only Slytherins that doesn't want to become a Death Eater. Why? Because Death Eaters killed most of my family years ago. My aunt and uncle were left alive, along with their five kids, but almost no one else is left. All seven of them are absolutely awful. The minute I graduate from Hogwarts, when I get off that red train fro the last time, I'm taking all my stuff and moving someplace far, far away from the rest of my family. Until then, I suck it up during summer break and live it up during winter break, when I go to Emilia's for the holidays.

I yank the green curtains around my bed closed, knowing it won't block out the insults. It will block out whatever they might decide to throw at me, though, so I do it anyway. As usual, Astoria's friends comment how awful it must be for her to share a room with a cursed girl. She says she doesn't mind, because I keep to myself.

I go to sleep, as usual, with the sound of insults in the background.

* * *

 **Well, that's the beginning. Let me know how you felt about it! Since I have no idea where I'm going with this, people's suggestions will play a key role. I've got the next chapter mostly figured out, though. Just wait. Poor Naila will have no idea what hit her...**

 **Love you all!**

 **-carrie**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again!**

 **If you've read my profile, you know that I'm pretty busy, so it's actually a miracle I updated this fast. Please don't hold this as my standard, or you're going to be really disappointed. Anyway, here's where the direction of Naila's story becomes a little clearer. After this, though, it's all up in the air...**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: I Crash a Party**

The next time we have to practice Apparating, it's at Hogsmeade. Maybe this will be easier for me, Apparating to places I actually care about instead of some random circle on the floor.

Like I predict, I Apparate much more smoothly here than in the Great Hall. I can tell the main instructor is about to cry tears of joy when me and Hermione Granger manage to Apparate perfectly.

"Jealous much?" I whisper to Emilia as she walks up to take her turn.

"Not a chance," she whispers back with a smirk. She then proceeds to nearly Splinch herself while trying to get to the doorstep of the Three Broomsticks.

We take a break, and talk and laugh about random stuff that came up during the day, like Hedwig swooping around me and hooting at breakfast, or us helping Neville back on his feet after he tripped on one of the many trick staircases. This is how I know we're friends. We're so close, we talk about weird stuff like that, and still manage to keep the conversation flowing.

Practices at Hogsmeade turn out to be a lot easier than even I thought they would be. Me and Hermione are the best of the best, with my only brush with disaster being the time I found myself a whole quarter of a mile off target after being distracted by someone throwing an apple at me behind my back (I know someone did because it Apparated with me). Small potatoes, though, compared to some of the others (one kid somehow managed to Splinch himself neatly down the middle, so one half was on the south side of the town and the other half on the north). Emilia's getting along all right now, thank goodness.

One day, Twycross tells me to Apparate into the Great Hall from Hogsmeade. He's had several people do this already, like Hermione and a couple of others. They all managed to do it successfully, with the exception being a girl who ended up somewhere in between.

I take a deep breath. Twycross takes me to a place where there are less people, and he tells the few who are there to keep it down.

I take another deep breath.

And another.

And another.

And...

 _CRACK!_

When I Apparate, I make it into the Great Hall, but something's wrong. I'm standing where I should have landed, but everyone's at dinner. I'm on top of the Gryffindor table, with one foot in the mashed potatoes and the other foot on someone's pizza (they moan, "I was gonna eat that!" in the background). It's way past quarter to three, and I can't recognize anyone here.

I whip around to face the teacher's table. No Snape. No McGonagall. No Dumbledore.

Wait. There he is. Looking about thirty years younger.

The sharp movement is too much for my head. The whole castle starts spinning slightly, and I have to sit down (not in the food this time) with both hands on my head.

"What—" starts a man who must be the headmaster. "How is this possible? Child, come here."

I try to tell him I can't, but I think I might puke if I open my mouth now. Instead, I manage to cast a Hovering Charm on myself, and I float off the table over to the front of the hall.

I'm sure I look like a total mess. It was windy where I Apparated, so my hair's everywhere; I've still got food bits on my feet, my robes are ripped, and I'm probably green from the messed up Apparating I just finished doing.

"Are you quite all right?" asks a woman in grey robes to the left to the headmaster.

I manage to shake my head. I lift my left arm to rub my forehead, and that's when the sleeve of my robes moves enough to reveal the coiled silver snake. Immediately, the Slytherins begin whispering, as if they recognize it somehow.

I'm in no mood to care, because my world is suddenly fading in color. I feel myself landing in someone's arms as I fall. They must be in Gryffindor, because a red and gold scarf falls in my face as whoever it is helps me to the hospital wing. I accidentally knock against his glasses once, but he doesn't seem to care. He's got at least two friends helping him, because there are people that dart in and out of my vision as we walk to the hospital wing.

"We don't know what happened," his voice explains as a woman—not Madam Pomfrey—rushes toward me. "She just appeared out of nowhere on the Gryffindor table—like she Apparated or something."

I try to tell them that I _did_ Apparate there, but the only sound I can make is a groan.

That's when the world disappears entirely, except for the circular golden glint of the mystery boy's glasses.

* * *

 **Feel free to leave reviews (because, like every author on this site, I actually need them to both encourage and instruct me) or PM me any questions. Also, I'm open to suggestions about which direction this story should head.**

 **RiddleAllOfMe, your suggestion is being considered, don't worry, and thank you for reviewing. :)**

 **On that note, I can't really know what you'd like to see in this story unless you review. I apologize for my lack of mental telepathy, because that would make things easier, but since I'm not a telepath you'll just have to review. *sarcastic sigh***

 **Love you all!**

 **-carrie**

 **P.S. If there are any typos, please tell me! I hate it when I go back to look at my stories and find stupid typos no one told me about. They really annoy me, and if they annoy you, too, please take the time to let me know. Also, I'm American, so please excuse any American words that confuse you (if you're annoyed by that, too, I'm willing to change it if you tell me what to change it to). Thanks!**


End file.
